All That Matters
by ProfessionalMoron
Summary: Cinder observed the two people travelling on the road from the treeline. One on a horse, the other walking beside. Cinder saw that the one on the horse was the Fall Maiden. She turned to her associates, "Kill the spare." -Amber's fight in Vol.3 Episode 7 goes slightly different.
1. Guardian

All That Matters

" _Life is not a fairytale and there are no happy endings." -Achilles Davenport_

 **Disclaimer: All rights to the name "RWBY" belongs solely to Monty Oum and** **Rooster Teeth. A** **nything else of a copyrighted nature belongs to their respective owners. I do not profit from writing this story whatsoever.**

They first met at Beacon Academy and placed together as a team by Professor Ozpin. As Team FALL, their career had some highlights as they were usually on the top of Beacon Academy's list, but Loden Bayern did notice that his teammate, Amber, always seemed to hold back in battle such as not using her Semblance or being reluctant in delivering the final blow. Amber would also always be called on by Ozpin and Goodwitch for something important. Overtime, Loden had become good friends with Amber during their time as a team and they hung out together often so Loden would sometimes ask her what Ozpin and Goodwitch wanted with her sporadically. She would tell him it was the both of them advising her on extra Huntress training or extra study work and move on to another topic but Loden felt suspicious of her answers. It seemed like almost every other day Ozpin would call on Amber, but Loden let it go after their first two years at Beacon when she reassured him that she was doing this for one thing.

"I want to be the strongest Huntress there is." She told him. Amber did have a fighting spirit but it only made it strange when she chooses to hold back in battles.

At least she was around to be with him and the rest of the team on long enough periods of time that satisfied their other teammates from prodding too much with questions. If they asked though, Loden took it upon himself to cover for Amber's absences to his teammates, making excuses that she's sick, polishing her staff, getting yelled at by Professor Goodwitch for something or that she was stuck with Professor Port getting lectured to death. The excuses were just to add variety to Amber's absences so that they wouldn't question why she was always with Ozpin. Amber going to Ozpin's office was the most frequent. As thanks for covering for her, Amber would take Loden out to Vale, just the two of them, and go to a cafe, a bookstore, or the shopping district. On one trip, in their third year, Amber bought Loden a bracelet from one of the storefronts.

* * *

"Looks good don't it?" Amber said as she finished tying the green and gold bracelet to his arm.

"It's okay."

"It's okay?" She doubted his sincerity while she paid the shopkeeper.

Loden immediately realized her tone but he did honestly see as an okay gift. It wasn't the best gift he had ever gotten but it wasn't bad by any margin. Still, he felt the need to reassure her, "It's a wonderful bracelet, Amber. Thank you."

Her expression of doubt softened slightly.

"I should get you something too." He said, just to dispel any lingering doubt in her.

"You don't have to, you already bought lunch."

"It's fine. You got me something, I should give you something. Now..." Loden began looking through what else the storekeeper had.

 _'She's already got two gold bracelets. Hmm...maybe this. This looks just right.'_ He thought.

Loden picked up, appropriately enough, an amber colored pendant with two small green and gold feathers and a slightly larger red feather sticking out. He showed her the pendant that Amber had actually thought of buying for herself.

"Uhh, may I?" He asked, intending to put the pendant on her. Amber nodded back.

While putting on the pendant on her vest, a thought strayed into Loden's head, _'A little close to her chest aren't you?'_ He sped up putting the pendant on her with that thought and then asked her, "Well, how's that?"

Amber looked at the small mirror in the storefront. The pendant made her look more like a professional Huntress. She enjoyed that feeling since they were now only a year away from actually being considered legitimate Huntresses and Huntsmen.

"Now, _this_ is wonderful."

* * *

Eventually, Loden would be told about why Amber was missing most of the time. Before finishing their final year at Beacon, Loden was called to Ozpin's office. Just before Loden got on the elevator, a man with graying spiky hair and alcoholic smell jumped into the elevator before the doors shut. As the elevator ascended, the drunk man broke the silence.

"Who are you, kid?" The man questioned.

"I'm Loden. I got called in by Professor Ozpin and you are?"

"Qrow's the name. I'm, uhh, I'm a friend of Oz."

While Loden wondered about who else would be Ozpin's friends, Qrow took a glace at him and scrutinized his appearance.

 _'Green shirt, brown pants, simple armor layout over the clothes, dark hair. Pretty normal. Wait, what's that on the arm? A handmade bracelet? Green and gold.'_ He thought.

"Lucky kid." He mumbled under his breath before taking a sip from his flask. Loden gave Qrow a weird look and thought about what he meant by that.

Exiting the elevator, Loden saw Amber was already there, standing next to Ozpin. She looked nervous. Ozpin told Loden to take a seat while Qrow leaned on a pillar in the back. Ozpin began with asking Loden if he had ever heard of The Story of the Seasons.

"Yeah, I remember the story. It's a fairytale my mother told me once. Four Maidens take care of an old wizard and the wizard gives them the power of each of the four seasons as a reward. Moral of the story being, be nice to people, at least it's how my mother saw it."

"Ohh, a smart one too." Qrow quipped.

"Correct." Ozpin replied, ignoring Qrow. "But what if I told you that story was not a fairytale? What if I told you that story was real? That the Four Maidens exist in this world? That their story fell from known history to myth and legend because of the time passed since? What if I told you that the power of the Maidens was done without Dust."

"So it's by Semblance then." Loden answered trying not to sound nervous as to why the Headmaster of Beacon was dwelling on an old fairytale.

Ozpin shook his head. "No, Mr. Bayern. I am suggesting that their power transcends a Semblance. I am suggesting it is magic."

Loden struggled to answer Ozpin's statement until Qrow butted in.

"Oz, stop scaring the kid and let Amber tell him. It's why she's here, isn't it? In case, he wouldn't take you seriously or wouldn't understand."

Loden looked at Amber. She had been avoiding to look at him directly since he came into Ozpin's office. Ozpin consented to Qrow's advice, got up and whispered something into Amber's ear before moving towards Qrow. Amber nodded to whatever Ozpin told her then she spoke softly, "Professor, Qrow, can I be alone with him for a bit?"

"Of course." Ozpin said. He went to the elevator telling Qrow to join him. Qrow complained a bit, telling Ozpin he just go there but ended up joining him anyway. Amber then leaned on the front of Ozpin's desk facing Loden.

* * *

Once the elevator doors shut and they were alone, Loden spoke first. "You're a Maiden."

"What?!" Amber said looking at him in surprise.

"You're a Maiden." He repeated in the same astonished tone.

Amber flustered at his reaction, "Well, uhh, yeah, I mean, yes. But, I—I didn't think you'd take it so well."

"Don't get me wrong, this is still pretty surprising and I got a bunch of questions I wanna ask. I mean, you're a Maiden. And Professor Ozpin is trying to say magic exists? This is all really..." He couldn't finish his sentence.

Amber then became suspicious of Loden, "Wait, how would you know I'm a Maiden?"

"Well, I just kinda thought like, why would Professor Ozpin go real deep into The Story of the Seasons? Why were you standing right next to him? Why would he call so much attention to the story with you next to him if he wasn't trying to imply something, right?" He defended.

Amber relaxed and then after a moment, she laughed softly, "Maybe the Professor was talking about you."

"Oh, what would I do with phenomenal cosmic power? Cook? Get good grades? Maybe impress a girlfriend?" He mumbled before shaking his head and asking her in a concerned tone, "But how did you know, Amber? How did you know you were a Maiden?"

Amber took a breath and started, "It started was when I was a child. It was sudden too. I felt this rush when this—this _**power**_ came over me. Suddenly, I could make it rain or make the clouds disappear. Throw up a strong wind or make it calm. All of it just by thinking about it."

She then gave a quiet chuckle, "And as a real shocker to my parents, started levitating around the house."

Loden found that amusing too of the mental image of a young Amber floating around her house while her parents panic in thinking of how to bring her down. Amber's expression then became somewhat sad.

"Then Professor Ozpin came to talk to my parents. I didn't understand then, I was young still, but thinking about it now, I'm sure he talked with my parents about what was going to happen with me. My parents agreed to whatever Professor Ozpin said but I remember my mother crying. After finishing with my parents, the Professor told me that I was the Fall Maiden and he would be happy to have me at Beacon when I got older."

"So it was just like that. You got the Maiden's power just like that?" Loden said.

"From what Professor Ozpin has taught me about the Maidens is that when they die, their power goes into a young girl they thought of before they died. If their last thought was a man or someone old, it goes into someone random. Since Professor Ozpin found me quick, I guess the previous Fall Maiden thought of me."

"Well, this is, uhh, that's all—" He started as this was quite a bit to take in, but Amber interrupted.

"This is why I've been getting called on by Professor Ozpin, for lessons on the Maiden's powers and history and it's why Professor Goodwitch has been giving me extra combat lessons. All for me to control my powers properly."

"Wait, Professor Goodwitch knows about this too? Who else knows?!" Loden said in surprise.

"That man you met, Qrow, General Ironwood from Atlas, the heads of the other academies and probably some others that even I don't know. Professor Ozpin wants to keep it all a secret."

"But why keep this a secret? Amber, I'm sure the rest of our team would definitely like to know. Hell, I'm sure the rest of the world would want to know."

Amber felt nervous to explain this part as it's a future she might face, but Loden needed to know why it would seem as if she was neglecting their team for not telling them.

"The thing is, Professor Ozpin told me that the reason it's good to keep the identity of a Maiden a secret is because people have been hunting them. It had been happening for a long time. Keeping the Maidens a secret let them become myths, become fairytales. All to stop people from murdering them to get their power. It's why I've been holding back in our battles, to keep this all a secret. And I told you what happens when a Maiden dies, remember?"

That thought hadn't crossed Loden's mind. He felt ashamed about it, not realizing that Amber's life would be in constant danger if someone knew about who she was. And if a terrible person got the amazing power of a Maiden, a lot of people could die. Despite the horrifying possibility though, Loden wanted to ask her one more thing.

"Why me?"

"What?"

"Why tell me all of this? Why would Professor Ozpin, who's trying to keep this all a secret because of the danger, risk telling this to one of his thousands of students that he can't be sure of in trusting?"

"It's because I asked him to trust you."

Loden was surprised by her response, "What, really?"

Amber smiled at him, "Yeah. I've come to trust you. You've covered for me when I needed it even though I didn't really ask for you to do it. You've been one of the nicest people I've met." She then eyed the bracelet she gave him when they went to Vale in their third year. "I've actually come to ca—" She shifted nervously and turned her face away from him slightly to hide the red on her face, "I've come to really care about you because of it..." She then looked at him and quickly added, "and the team. Yeah, the team too."

Loden smiled back at her, "Th—Thanks."

But he couldn't shake off her comment about him though and couldn't help feel himself heat up and blush because of it. "Actually Amber, you're one of the strongest people I've met. You've beaten my ass in a lot mock battles now that I think about." He laughed quietly. "But, you're also compassionate and beautiful and..." He hesitated feeling uneasy of how she might react but he might as well get it out there. "Amber, I lo—"

"Excuse us." Glynda called as she, Ozpin, Qrow, and Ironwood exited the elevator. While walking out, Ozpin was in mid-protest that Amber and Loden needed more time, but it didn't matter anymore. Loden shut himself right up.

* * *

Amber immediately got up from Ozpin's desk and greeted the four while Loden got up from his seat. Ozpin returned to his desk while Glynda, Qrow, and Ironwood came to surround the two of them. Loden felt uncomfortable being surrounded, feeling he was about to be told that this was all a ruse to make him _disappear_ for having learned of the Maidens.

"Hey Amber, have you told him?" Qrow said.

"Yes, Qrow. He knows."

Glynda spoke up, "Good. Have you also discussed the next step?"

"Actually, I was just about to get to that." Amber said somewhat embarrassed, noticing that she and Loden had gotten slightly sidetracked even after Ozpin had just whispered to her earlier to mention it.

"The next step?" Loden questioned.

Ironwood answered, "The next step is that Amber needs a guardian. Unfortunately, Qrow can no longer do this. We need him elsewhere."

Loden began to realize that they were likely to ask him to be Amber's guardian because she vouched for him. He felt rather happy about that.

Amber looked sadly at Qrow. "Sorry, Amb. But James is right." Qrow said.

"Yes. We need Qrow to handle an issue that has come to our attention." Glynda said.

Amber was close to asking what would have them worried but Glynda knew what she was going to ask. "You do not need to worry, Amber. We can handle the problem. As for your guardian..." Glynda eyed Loden. She began thinking of his combat scores which were quite good. While far below Qrow's level, Glynda understood there was potential in him. She didn't feel the need to object to Amber's recommendation of him. "I agree with your choice."

Ironwood however, felt otherwise. "Her guardian should be more experienced. Someone with extensive combat experience. Unfortunately, Schnee is also unavailable. I would feel better if some of my Atlesian Knights would shadow her movements for the time being." He appealed to Ozpin.

"Good one, Jimmy. A bunch of your Knights trying blend in is the same as a Death Stalker pretending to be dog. They'll tip off everybody that Amber's a Maiden. Besides, even the Ice Queen isn't ready for this."

"She _is_ ready, Qrow. She only needs to be available. But what do you propose?"

"Stick to Amb's suggestion. He'll do fine." Qrow turned his attention to Ozpin, "It's why you put them together as a team, wasn't it Oz?"

Ozpin had so far been deep in thought about his choice to pair them and then acknowledged Qrow's comment, "Yes, I did. I agree with Qrow, Glynda, and Amber, James. Mr. Bayern has been with Amber since the beginning of their careers at this school. It is only logical they remain together."

Ironwood scoffed at Ozpin's statement but reluctantly agreed, "I hope you're right about this, Ozpin."

Ozpin thought the same. Turning his attention to Loden, "Mr. Bayern, you understand what we are asking of you, correct?"

"Yes, Professor. You want me to be Amber's guardian."

Ozpin nodded, "You should know Mr. Bayern, there is risk to this position. If Amber is discovered..."

"I'll protect her, Professor." Loden though, felt that Amber could protect herself better than he could, but if Ozpin wanted someone to watch over her, he would gladly do the job.

"Then it is decided. Thank you, Loden. Now please, you and Amber are free to leave." Ozpin pointed them to the elevator.

While proceeding to the elevator, Amber put her arm around Loden's and whispered to him, "Thanks."

"I should be thanking you again Amber, for trusting me with all of this. I'll protect you, no matter what." Amber tried to hide her blush at his declaration but he could tell how she felt.

Once in the elevator and the doors shut, she turned to him, "By the way, what were you about to say before you got cut off?"

* * *

As soon as the two of them were gone, Glynda proposed to add extra combat lessons to Loden's schedule.

"Thank you, Glynda. I'm sure Mr. Bayern will appreciate it and hopefully calm your fears, James."

"I still believe a more experienced person should be assigned to her but I'll respect your decision, Ozpin. Now, why does Qrow need to be somewhere else and not protecting the Fall Maiden?"

Qrow gave a questioning look at Ozpin as he also wondered why he was ending his guardianship. Ozpin sighed, "Qrow, I need you to investigate some rumors."

"Rumors? About what?"

"Rumors of someone looking to steal a Maiden's power."


	2. Hunting

Despite being together for four years, Team FALL disbanded after graduating from Beacon as Amber and Loden's other teammates were forced to follow other goals at the behest of their families. Amber and Loden sympathized for their teammates' but the two of them wanted to abide by Beacon's mandate to be Huntresses and Huntsmen and defeat the Grimm. At the end of the graduation ceremony, they wished their departing teammates the best.

After leaving Beacon, Amber took Loden to meet her family in Mistral. She lived in one of the villages in the kingdom. Loden was nervous of her family's reaction of him, thinking it might be like one of those stereotypical dramas of an overly protective father and a mother who teases their child about the person they brought with them. To his relief, it was nothing like that as her parents were quite welcoming and were happy to have their daughter home as they showered her with affection. Amber would confess to Loden in the midst of her hug with her parents that she has not seen them in eight years. She went to Sanctum and then immediately transferred to Beacon after finishing at Sanctum and made to stay at Beacon until she finished at Ozpin's request. Loden could only give a partial smile to Amber being with her parents again as while a part of him was glad for her happiness, another part of him thought of how could Ozpin be cruel to not give Amber a break to see her parents.

Over the next few days, they were spent on Amber telling absolutely everything that has happened to her in the past eight years to her parents. With her time at Sanctum, she noted some friends she made and tournaments she participated in. After leaving Sanctum though, she began hearing news of an amazing Huntress who had won in the Mistral Region Tournament and was attending Sanctum. She felt rather proud that someone that good was representing her first academy as the last battle in the Tournament was of that Huntress taking on four opponents by herself. Although when she got to the point of explaining her time at Beacon, she didn't mention anything about Maidens even though her parents knew she was one. Her parents didn't question her on it though, they only thought of her as their daughter, nothing more. She would mention instead all the good times she had, like the dance in their second year and competing in the Vytal Festival with some low points, like their elimination in the semi-finals at Vytal and mostly about how boring Professor Port was.

Once Amber was done, her parents tried prying into Loden's history. He gave them a more condensed story, telling them that his family was back in Atlas and that he enjoyed his time at Beacon with Amber and their team. He did go at some length about this one girl who approached him during the Vytal Festival who was interested in becoming a sniper. Although, when he mentioned she should shoot with both eyes open, she got defensive about her beanie. Amber would glance at him sadly as he didn't talk about his family further. Amber wanted to know but he refused to talk about it.

Simply put, when a son refuses to join the military with a family that has had a long, illustrious history of military service, it's doomed to cause tension.

* * *

After spending a month with Amber's parents, most of it spent talking more on Amber's past or the two of them helping her parents around the house, Loden was itching to hunt Grimm as was the job of a Huntsman. He asked Amber to consider it too, send themselves to one of the outlying villages that give contracts to hunt Grimm, but her parents begged her to stay with them and she agreed to it even though she seemed conflicted by it. Her parents also didn't mind if he stuck around longer too. He respected Amber's choice to stay with them but he needed to get out there to become stronger.

A problem that had been lingering on his mind since they left Beacon is how could he protect Amber. His fighting style favored long to mid-range since he used a sniper rifle. Amber would always take advantage of this in their mock battles at Beacon by closing the distance and handing his ass to him on a platter since he wasn't good at close range combat. He also did feel reluctant to shoot her. He improved slightly in close combat due to Professor Goodwitch's extra lessons for him before they left but it wasn't good enough to him.

Waking up early, Loden got ready to leave. Since Amber's home was small, he had actually been sleeping on a couch in the living room so it made it easier for him to leave without making too much of a racket. Grabbing his rifle, he opened up the front door until he heard someone clear their throat to get his attention.

"Going already?" It was Amber.

"Yeah."

"You could at least have some breakfast."

"Already did. Your parents left out some food. Please tell them that I thank them."

"Okay." She sounded disappointed. "I should be going with you."

"No, it's better if you stay here. You're safer here. Besides, this gives you more time to spend with your parents."

She sighed and nodded. Just as he walked out the door, Amber called out to him, "Loden, wait..." He turned around and she came to hug him.

"Come back, okay."

He hugged her back. "I will. I'll probably be back in a week. Two tops. And if I get into some serious trouble..." He showed her his Scroll, "I can always call."

Leaving the village, Loden decided to got to the more secluded villages in Mistral, the ones that were under threat by the Grimm. Those places usually brought the scum of Remnant as well. On his way to that place, he thought about his close combat problem.

 _'A sword? No. I'd just swing it around wildly. A staff? Maybe. Amber could help me out with that one. It should be small though. It can't mess with me when I'm sniping. Hmm...wait. A pistol? No, not just a pistol, one that can be a melee weapon.'_

* * *

It had been three weeks since Loden left and Amber was getting worried. The first two weeks flew by as she was enjoying reconnecting with her parents but once she noticed it had been three weeks since, she felt nervous. He hadn't called her and he wasn't answering his Scroll. She waited another week but eventually, she decided to go find him.

Amber got herself ready, "Mom, dad, I'm going."

"Please be careful." Her mother said while she handed Amber a green hooded cloak that she used to wear when she was an active Huntress.

"For the cold days."

"Thanks, mom."

"Are sure you want to go? I'm sure your friend can take care of himself." Her father said.

"Yes dad, I'm sure." She brought her parents in close to hug them. "I'll come home again soon."

"Please be careful." Her mother repeated.

"I will. Goodbye."

Walking away from her home, Amber waved back to her parents. They did the same but while her father did his best to give her a stoic face, she noticed that her mother was teary-eyed. Amber felt sad by her mother's reaction. It reminded her of when she left for Sanctum were her mother was also crying. Amber promised to herself that she would come home, just to make sure her mother doesn't cry again.

She then thought about where Loden would be.

 _'He mentioned those outlying villages.'_ She thought, but remembered that there were quite a number of villages that dot the borders of Mistral. She would have to ask around to narrow the choices.

* * *

After a week of wandering the villages and asking questions to people of anyone seeing Loden, Amber finally got a solid tip leading her to a rather rundown hotel that doubled as a pub. Entering the place and putting down her hood, she took a look around and saw that there were a few Huntsman teams scattered around the tables. The rest of the patrons looked a little more sketchy. Despite the questionable looking people, the place was lively with conversation and music.

Approaching the bar, she questioned the barkeeper, "Uhh, excuse me, have you seen a man in green clothes and armor with a large sniper rifle?"

The barkeeper continued serving drinks to the people around her so Amber repeated her question in a louder tone. The barkeeper acknowledged her,

"Yeah, I've seen someone like that. A few people fit that look. Got anything better?"

"His name is Loden. He'd have dark hair and a bracelet on his arm."

"Loden, you say? I got somebody with that name in Room 203." He pointed at the stairs.

"Thank you."

Amber began to move towards the stairs leading to the rooms but the barkeeper caught her attention.

"Hey!"

"Uhh, yes?"

"I don't know what your deal is with this guy, but I don't want any trouble, you hear?"

"O—Okay."

Amber moved to the stairs and went to the room. It was strangely unlocked but when she took a look at the door, there was no locking mechanism. She looked around the room, he wasn't there but some of his stuff was there. One of his bags, empty, a few magazines for his rifle that didn't have any Dust rounds in them were sitting on the bed and the empty cleaning kit box for the rifle. She sighed.

 _'Not here. Where are you, Loden?'_

* * *

Loden returned to the pub. He waved to the barkeeper who waved back. The barkeeper tried to call to him that there was someone for him but he didn't pay much attention as the music and conversations were drowning out the barkeeper's calls.

He headed up the stairs and noticed something wrong with his room. It was open and he could see the shadow of someone poking around the room.

 _'Another robber? It never ends does it.'_

He took out a slightly long barrelled pistol and transformed it into an electric baton. The electric charge running though the baton was powered by a Dust crystal and was set to stun opponents. The intensity could be set higher to possibly kill someone but he limited that setting to Grimm only.

Loden hugged the wall as he saw the shadow moving towards the door. As the figure moved to the door frame, Loden tapped the person with his baton. The person let out a yelp at the sudden electrocution before falling to the ground with a thud. Loden holstered his pistol and came around the door to see the person. When he saw who the person was, he could only say one thing,

"Oh, shit."

* * *

A/N: Thank you, to those that have read this story. Unfortunately, I will be unable to update for a while as I've got some papers and exams on the way. Hopefully, I can find some time in-between to write and post but don't expect a new chapter until maybe April. Sorry.


End file.
